Photo from World Atlas
Paraguay Agriculture Minister Luis Gneiting and three others died when the twin engine airplane carrying them to the capital Asuncion crashed into a wetland on Wednesday night, an official told reporters today, July 26, Reuters reports.
A search and rescue team located the small aircraft on Thursday morning six kilometers or 3.73 miles from the airport in Ayolas, Luis Aguirre, head of the National Civil Aviation Directorate told Reuters.
“The remains of the plane were found in a wetland. The tip of the tail is visible and the rest of the plane is underwater,” Aguirre said. He added that the plane was only in the air for two or three minutes and did not reach a high altitude before falling.
Agriculture Minister Luis Gneiting, Vice Minister for cattle Vicente Ramirez, the pilot and co-pilot died in the crash. The pilot, Gerardo López, was a former agriculture vice-minister.
Gneiting, who took office two months ago, is a former governor of Itapua department, one of Paraguay’s main soy producing regions.
Aguilar says that investigators will begin trying to determine the cause of the crash and the reason why an emergency beacon failed to activate, a factor that apparently slowed rescue efforts.
“All of Pagaguay is in mourning over this accident,” said President-elect Mario Abdo, who will take office on Aug. 15.